Links, 5.2.11

May is here. Makes me feel all Lerner and Loewe-ish. Remember that song? Best line: “It’s May! It’s May!/That gorgeous holiday!/When ev’ry maiden hopes that her lad/Will be a cad … ”

Hell, yes: Hell’s Gate, Hell’s Kitchen, Hell’s Hundred Acres — what is it about New York City that brings out such devilish naming conventions? A fun post by the New York Public Library’s Carmen Nigro.

Tornadoes:The South continues to dig out from last week’s horrific onslaught of tornadoes; sending prayers and good thoughts that way. Meanwhile, a small ray of sunshine as Birmingham Public Library workers salvage local history artifacts from a hard-hit area. The Alabama Genealogical Society has begun a site with updates about members affected by the crisis.

Heritage home: For a quarter-century it existed as a summer-only venue in the Catskills; now the Irish American Heritage museum is moving to Albany, N.Y. and restyling itself as a year-round institution. The museum is leasing 3,000 square feet across from SUNY-Albany’s central administration operation and hopes to open in September with standing exhibits and a new emphasis on school-group programs. All the best!

End of the line: Yes, yes, we all liked the dress, and wasn’t that Pippa a smashing bridesmaid? But forget all that and tune into the quirkiest story emerging from last week’s royal wedding hoopla: The Wall Street Journal interviews a resident of Rostock in eastern Germany who just might be the last in line to the British throne.

Pls cpy: The Family History Library is implementing a new copying system — with a new copy card system as well. Dr. D gets the details from the FHL’s chief of Library Patron Services. h/t Ancestry Insider.

Seeing is believing: Ancestry Insider also offered the always-timely reminder that when we say we have a source, we should describe as exactly as possible the source we’ve actually seen. There’s no shame in not being able to view the original record — lots of people must content themselves with photocopies and transcripts. In which case, call it a copy or a transcript.

Shipwreck stories: LiveScience tells us that a decade-long DNA analysis seems to have concluded the long mystery of an unknown child victim of the Titanic disaster. In other LiveScience shipwreck news: a fascinating article, first published last year, about how timing affected survival in the sinkings of the Titanic and the Lusitania.

Dark ‘clouds’: In The Lessons from Amazon, Sony and Epsilon, James Tanner writes about recent breaches in data security and/or accessibility, and the sobering implications for users exploring the world of cloud computing.

Blue and Gray: Puzzling over a U.S. Civil War ancestor? Worry no more. The National Genealogical Society is releasing a new course, Introduction to Civil War Records, designed by renowned military researcher Craig Robert Scott. The course will be unveiled at the NGS meeting in Charleston later this month. (Via DearMyrtle and Leland Meitzler)

Wrong stuff: Last week I alluded to a great quote from the official bio of author/actor/genealogist Hank Jones. Randy Seaver (GeneaMusings) heard Mr. Jones speak and has a fantastic report on “When The Sources Are Wrong.”